1. Technical Field
This invention relates to organizing apparatuses and, more particularly, to a sock organizing apparatus for sorting and washing paired socks.
2. Prior Art
Even with today's modern automated appliances, time has become more and more precious. One of the more onerous tasks required of the typical household is that of periodic laundry. While automated washers and dryers have simplified this chore, it still requires the sorting of clothing and other washable articles into various types according to color and other properties, and requires further sorting when the laundry is done to place the clean clothing or articles in the proper area. While this part of the chore may be readily accomplished with most clothing articles, it nevertheless requires additional time, and in some cases a fair amount of care is required to properly sort some paired articles which may have a similar appearance between different individual units.
Socks, stocking, and the like are a prime example, as oftentimes such clothing articles tend to be conservatively colored or patterned, and great care must be taken to preclude the mismatching of individual articles. While various devices have been developed to provide for such pairing of socks and the like for easy and convenient laundering and/or storage, they suffer from various deficiencies as will be discussed below.
One example discloses a clip formed of two mating and interlocking stampings of sheet material. The relative thinness of the material required for the interlocking portion of the clip requires that the portions be formed of a relatively durable material such as metal, which would not be suitable for the environment of the present invention due to its tendency to rust in moist conditions and to scratch or mar the interior of the washer and dryer drums when placed therein. Moreover, no additional means of improving the grip of the jaws is disclosed, which would likely result in slippage and disengagement from the article held therein during a washing or drying cycle, thus overcoming the purpose of the invention.
Another example discloses an aneurism clip formed of a single piece of titanium or titanium alloy. The deficiencies of such a metal clip used in the environment of the present invention have been noted above in the discussion of the previous clip example. Moreover, the relatively narrow, rod-like jaws do not appear to provide the distribution of force desirable to preclude crushing of the fabric. A further example discloses a sock palter and holder including a loop that has a pin at one end and a cooperating socket at the opposite end. The article(s) secured thereby are punctured by the pin, and thus unfortunately damaged, by using the device.
Accordingly, a need remains for a sock organizing apparatus in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a sock organizing apparatus that is easy to use, durable in design, safe to deploy in a washer and dryer, provides considerable time and money savings, and is light weight, compact and portable in construction. Such a sock organizing apparatus solves the age-old problem of socks mysteriously disappearing during washing and drying procedures. The apparatus effectively holds pairs of socks together in the washer and/or dryer, and also during storage thereof. Such an apparatus is appreciable by a wide demographic of people due to the time and money it saves that is otherwise spent attempting to replace mismatched or lost socks.